A Brief Introduction to Daming Law

Daming Law is a decree of the Ming Dynasty in China, which was formulated in detail by the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, summing up the experience and lessons of law enforcement in past dynasties. Daming Law adapts to the development of the situation, changes its style, adjusts the name of punishment, affirms the change of personal status in the early Ming Dynasty, attaches importance to economic legislation, shows the relative independence of various departments' laws in style, expands the scope of civil law, and presents new characteristics in the combination of "ceremony" and "law".

Daming Law is divided into 30 volumes, including five punishments (slapping, beating, exile and capital punishment), ten evils (rebellion, rebellion, disobedience, contempt, disrespect, unfilial, discord, injustice and civil strife) and eight suggestions (eight suggestions), which are the general purpose of the six laws, and are inherited from Yuan. Another "traitor" has been added, which was not available in the previous generation. In sentencing, generally speaking, the crime is lighter and the crime is heavier. The former mainly refers to the litigation within the landlord class, while the latter mainly refers to the severe measures against rebellion, rebellion and other civil unrest. Banning "traitors", "making friends with officials" and "talking about officials' virtue and politics" embodies Zhu Yuanzhang's centralized thought of preventing officials from seeking power and making friends with the party in the early Ming Dynasty.

In criminal law, "Daming Law" originated from "Tang Law". Among them, five punishments, such as slap, stick, apprentice, exile and death, are so-called normal punishments, while others, such as miscellaneous crimes, beheading, strangulation, migration, banishment, flail, tattoo, redemption and death penalty, etc. All of them are borne by themselves. The so-called imperial cudgel was put into practice by Zhu Yuanzhang, and cruel punishments that were not stipulated in other Daming laws also emerged one after another. As for Jin Yiwei's "prison summons", it is the worst murder and the most harmful. Later, the East Factory, the West Factory and the Inner Factory were established one after another, with severe punishments and severe laws, which intensified until the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty paid more attention to the construction and practice of the legal system, among which the Daming Law, which has undergone three large-scale revisions, is the most important achievement. Daming Law is of great significance in the history of ancient codification in China. It not only inherited the fine tradition of making laws in ancient China before the Ming Dynasty, but also summarized the compilation of code documents in China before the Ming Dynasty, and also started the development of legislative activities in China in the Qing Dynasty and even in modern times. In the process of implementing Daming Law in the Ming Dynasty, although it was constantly interfered by "I said the law", these interferences never affected its status as an orthodox code.

The formulation process of Daming Law was in October of the first year of Wu (1367), and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Li Shanchang, the left prime minister, to discuss laws and regulations with Liu Ji, an imperial minister. 1February, 430 laws were compiled, including 285 laws and 145 decrees. At the same time, the direct interpretation of the law was issued to explain the meaning of the law. In November of the sixth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of Ming Dynasty, ordered Liu, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and others to formulate the Daming Law in detail according to this law. It was completed in February of the following year and promulgated all over the world. Its content, like Tang Law, is divided into twelve chapters, such as Micro-class, Fighting Litigation, Cheating and Falsification, Miscellaneous Law, Arresting Death, Breaking Prison, Famous Case and so on. Thirty volumes, 606 articles. Twenty-two years later, it was revised substantially, and the law of famous regulations was placed at the top of the article, which was divided into six laws: official, household, ritual, soldier, punishment and industry, with a total of 30 volumes and 460 articles, which greatly changed the traditional legal style and structure. It was re-promulgated in May, 30, and at the same time, it was stipulated that other placards and bans should be abolished, and the prison sentence should be based on this.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang prohibited the heirs from "insurrection", the Daming Law was re-promulgated this time, and it was not revised at the end of the Ming Dynasty. If there are any changes, imperial edicts or supplementary laws will be issued. In the thirteenth year of Hongzhi (1500), there were 279 provisions on seeking punishment. In the 29th year of Jiajing (1550), it was rebuilt, adding 376 articles; In the 13th year of Wanli (1585), it was rebuilt, adding 382 articles. From then on, the method is parallel to the example.

The basic contents include: the law of famous examples, 47 articles, which is the program of the whole law. Famous examples are abbreviations of crime names and laws. The basic principles of sentencing for different grades and different criminal acts are stipulated. Among them, the "five punishments" stipulate five punishments, namely, beating with a stick, discipleship, vagrancy and suspended death; In the specific provisions of the "six laws", there are penalties such as death in the middle of the year, exile in remote areas, immigration, tattoos, etc. The "ten evils" stipulate rebellion, rebellion, evil rebellion and tattooing.

"Eight Discussions" means discussing relatives (royalty), discussing the past (old emperor), discussing merits, discussing ability, discussing diligence, discussing nobles (civil and military officials with one or more grades, officials with two grades) and discussing guests (those who are state guests after inheriting the previous generation), which determines the legal privileges of royalty, nobles and officials. These eight kinds of people commit crimes, and the Ministry of Justice has no right to ask. Take the news from the referee. However, compared with the previous generation, the privileges of civil and military officials in the Eight Discussions on Ming Law have declined.

Official law consists of official system and formula, with a total of 33 articles. It mainly stipulates the functions and duties that civil and military officials should follow. Among them, the death penalty clauses such as "ministers arbitrarily choose officials", "civil servants make princes", "making friends with cronies to disrupt state affairs", "making friends with officials" and "arbitrarily changing the law" are unique to Ming law firms, reflecting the historical characteristics of the increasingly centralized monarchy and feudal autocracy in Ming Dynasty.

Family Law is divided into seven volumes, namely Housework, Farm House, Marriage, Warehouse, Curriculum, Money Debt and Market, with 95 articles in total. This law is the legislation of population, household registration, clan, land, taxation, corvee, marriage, banknote law, treasury law, salt law, tea law, alum law, commercial tax, foreign trade, lending, market and other social, economic, personal relations and marriage civil contents. The content of adjusting economic relations has greatly increased, and special articles such as courses, money and debt, and market capital reflect the further development of the relationship between feudal economy and commodity currency in Ming Dynasty.

It also has the characteristics of the times in land system, tax system, personal attachment relationship and patriarchal clan system. There are no restrictions on the ownership of private land, but it is strictly forbidden to "cheat the land and cheat the grain"; It is allowed to buy and sell land, but it is stipulated that land sales houses must include taxes and over-cut, and it is strictly forbidden to merge land outside normal land sales. Crimes related to money and grain are more serious than those in the Tang Dynasty, but crimes such as "missing household registration", "illegal business", "abnormal wealth", "bereavement" and "low marriage" are not too serious. In addition, it is also stipulated that ordinary people are not allowed to keep slaves, landlords are not allowed to treat tenants' sedan chairs at will, and tenants only do the ceremony of "doing things with less" (that is, taking brothers as brothers).

"Rites" is divided into two volumes, offering sacrifices and rituals, with a total of 26 articles. This law is a legal provision for offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, ancestral temples, countries, mountains and rivers, as well as various etiquette between monarch and minister, father and son and husband and wife. Legally, other acts (some of which are "ten evils") are mostly secondary, except those that directly infringe on imperial power, such as "causing trouble to see an official", "blocking a letter" and "sending evil spirits falsely to mislead the public", such as "mixing royal medicine by mistake", "cooking a meal by mistake" and "cooking a ship by mistake". "Don't mourn the death of parents" is also a "ten evils", just a crime of behavior.

The Law of War is divided into five volumes, namely, Gong Wei, Jun Zheng, Guanjin, Steady Grazing and Post Station, with a total of 75 articles. This law is about military legislation. In view of the serious crimes committed by military personnel, this article was re-established in addition to adding "officers commit crimes" and "officers and men do not escape when committing crimes" to the law of famous cases.

The Criminal Law consists of eleven volumes, including thieves and thieves, human life, fighting, blame, litigation, bribery, fraud, rape, miscellaneous crimes, arrest, prison break, etc., with a total of 17 1. It stipulates the principle of a legally prescribed punishment for a crime and the principles of prosecution, pursuit and trial, which is the focus of the whole law.

Among them, the charges of "rebellion", "treason", "writing a demon book to spread rumors", "theft", "official accepting bribes" and "treachery" are all serious. For example, for the crime of "rebellion against the great rebellion", the Tang Law stipulates that I will be beheaded and my father and son will be strangled if they are over 16 years old; Ming law stipulates that I shall be executed in the middle of the year, and my grandfather, father and son, grandson, brother and cohabitant, regardless of their surnames, uncle and brother's son, will be beheaded at the age of sixteen. The punishment for indirect crimes such as instigation, children and grandchildren informing on grandparents, parents and adultery, and indirect crimes such as employee beating, cursing, rape and informing on owners were reduced.

The Trade Union Law is divided into two volumes, Construction and River Defense, with a total of 13, which are about the legislation of engineering construction, official construction, river defense, roads and bridges respectively. The monograph on the establishment of industrial law is unique to the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, there are funeral pictures and five penalty pictures.

Daming Law is a typical code in the late feudal society of China, which has distinct characteristics of the times. Although it is based on the Tang law, it has developed in form and content. Formally, the structure is more reasonable and the words are more concise; In terms of content, legislation in economic, military, administrative and litigation aspects is more substantial; In terms of conviction and sentencing, it embodies the principles of "ignoring the world" and "lighter its misdemeanor and heavier its felony"; "It is related to rituals and customs education, and the thief is convicted lightly." Its legal structure and sentencing principles had a great influence on the laws of the Qing Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to the formulation of laws. Daming Law is a summary of his life experience of "hard work and hard thinking for nearly 20 years", and it is a "non-publication" that he repeatedly revised, "every seven drafts" and carefully selected. He regarded it as a magic weapon to maintain the long-term stability of the Zhu Ming dynasty; In order to implement the Daming Law in all aspects of society; Zhu Yuanzhang also collected "crimes" of officials and people to explain the law. In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, Dagao was published. The following year, Dagao was published in the second and third editions. In the twenty-first year, Dagao's "Warrior" was awarded, which was recited by officials, soldiers and people all over the country. Its purpose is to make the broad masses obey the feudal rule through the education and publicity of laws and regulations.